PNM under fire for its decisions to discontinue the laptop distribution programme

The People’s National Movement Administration has come under fire by the Member of Parliament for San Juan/Barataria, Dr. Fuad Khan on its decisions to discontinue the laptop distribution programme and to reduce the number of recipients that will be entitled to publicly-funded textbooks.

He accused the PNM of embarking on a mission to systematically dismantle the educational infrastructure built by the People’s Partnership administration, hiding behind the excuse of reducing expenditure and streamlining the approach to educating our nation’s children.

He said the PP government was in the process of laying a foundation to deliver on the promise of the Education Act, to not only guarantee a free education to all children, but to ensure that they were equipped with the tools necessary for their learning experience.

He lamented that by discontinuing the laptop distribution programme, and limiting the number of students who could now access government supplied text books however, the PNM are now depriving our youth from the equipment that are readily available to their counterparts both at home and internationally, for furthering their educational development.

In an interview with News Power Now this morning, Khan stated that the PNM had to give greater importance to Educating our children.

He acknowledged that fiscal prudence at a time of global economic turmoil was advisable, however he said that by dampening our education system, what this government was doing was suppressing the learning and experience of those who would soon be joining the rest of the adult society, and would be confronted with the task of finding solutions in stabilizing our nation and economy.

He also claimed that the Government’s excuse of dealing with financial constraints didn’t make sense in light of the fact that it had place other less important things ahead of education.